Objective: To observe the effect of strengthening Pi and activating blood circulation therapy (SPAB) on serum levels of adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.
Methods: Seventy RA patients were randomly assigned to 3 groups. The 30 in the Chinese medicine (CM) group were treated with SPAB; the 20 in the Western medicine (WM) group were treated with indomethacin and methopterin; and the 20 in the CM-WM group were treated with the combination of the therapy in the above two groups, and the course of treatment was 3 months for all. Serum levels of ACTH and VEGF were determined before and after treatment.
Results: The total effective rate in the CM group was 80.0%, WM group 85.0% and CM-WM group 95.0%, the last one showed the best efficacy (P<0.05). Serum level of ACTH increased and level of VEGF decreased after treatment in all groups (P<0.05 or P<0.01), but the increment/decrement in the CM-WM group was higher than that in the other two groups (P<0.01), while comparison between that in the CW group and WM group showed insignificant difference.
Conclusion: SPAB therapy has the effect in alleviating the condition of RA, similar to that of Western medicine, it can increase the serum level of ACTH and decrease the serum level of VEGF remarkably in RA patients.